1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to gates for use in animal traffic and more particularly to a gate for use in controlling movement of cows.
2. Description of the Related Art
Gates for controlling the movement of animals are generally known. Under certain circumstances, the gates may be provided with animal recognition devices that detect the presence of a particular animal and open the gate if the animal is permitted to pass. The animal may be fitted with e.g. an electronic identification tag, often attached to an ear of the animal, that is detected by a reading device.
In order for detection to be effective, the reading device must be located at a position where it can reliably detect the animal or tag. Nevertheless, the reading device must also be protected from damage by the animal. One assembly is known from EP-A-1,300,067 which includes a plurality of reading devices in order to reliably recognise the animal. Although this known assembly functions properly, the reading devices for the gate require a wide measuring range for detecting an animal. This means that the energy consumption involved with the use of the reading devices is relatively high.